Christophe Claret Poker: Ante Up (Video, Price) [SIHH]

I think Christophe Claret has a gambling problem. The Swiss watchmaker seems to be obsessed with cards. First there were the Baccara and 21 Blackjack watches, both awesome in their own right. But, now… Now at the 2014 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva, there is a new gaming automaton watch, the third (and probably final) installment. It’s called the Christophe Claret Poker. And, Christophe Claret has saved the best for last.

Christophe Claret wanted to make the Poker years ago, before the Baccara and 21 Blackjack, but it proved to be more complicated to create than originally thought. Development of the Christophe Claret Poker took two full-time watchmakers over two years.

That’s over 11,680 man-hours to create a watch that allows three players to play a full 52-card game of Texas Hold’em Poker, complete with Hole Cards, the Flop, the Turn and the River. Yeah, a mechanical watch that tells time AND plays poker, so you can tell exactly how much time you’re spending playing with your new favorite toy.

The fact that you can play a full-game of Texan Hold’em on the Christophe Claret Poker isn’t even the coolest part. It’s the fact that the designers developed the gaming portion of the movement in such a way that the Poker has 32,768 different card combinations per player, or 98,304 different combinations in total, that is truly astonishing. On top of that, the each player has almost exactly the same probability of winning with each hand.

How does it work, you ask… On the dial of the Christophe Claret Poker are three windows positioned near the 10:30, 1:30 and six o’clock positions. Each window displays a player’s Hole Cards and is sheltered from prying eyes by shutters restricting view of the hand only to the person at that position. The cards are printed on three separate wheels and dealt by depressing a pusher. By pressing the “Deal” pusher, the wheels are spun and stop more or less at random, “dealing” the Hole, Flop, Turn and River cards all at once. Pushing the “Flop” and “Turn/River” buttons pull back the shades covering those cards at the appropriate times. It’s pretty ingenious.

And, it all begins and ends with the sound of the gong. I mean that literally. When each deal, turn, river and flop are activated by the pushers on the sides of the Christophe Claret Poker, a cathedral gong chimes, signaling the next round of betting.

The Christophe Claret Poker essentially has two machines, one for time-keeping and one for poker playing, within one movement. The 655-part, 72-jewel Calibre PCK05 is an in-house movement that manages to play poker and keep time, operating at a frequency of 28,800 beats-per-hour. The poker game itself is powered by depressing the game-play pushers, so you can play the night away without any drain on the watch’s power reserves. The automatic Calibre PCK05, however, has twin mainspring barrels and a 72-hour power-reserve.

Visible though a transparent case-back, the winding rotor is kinda neat on its own. The rotor is a roulette wheel. Give the Christophe Claret Poker a few shakes and the roulette wheel/winding rotor gets a-spinnin’. An arrow embedded into the wheel serves as roulette ball, indicating the winning number. Buyers can personalize their Poker with a green emerald set into the case-back with their lucky number.

Encasing all of this gambling horological goodness is a 45 mm case in either 18kt rose gold and PVD-coated titanium, white gold and PVD-coated titanium, or all black PVD-coated titanium in red or blue trim. The rose gold case gets a two-tone gray and rose gold dial with gold trimmed hands. The white gold and all titanium cases get two-tone dark and light gray dials with either red or blue trimmed hands. The rose gold is quite stunning, although the blue trimmed PVD-coated titanium is pretty cool, too, especially with the blue spinel set into the crown and blued roulette wheel hub. All case options come with an alligator strap with red, rose gold-ish or blue contrast stitching.

The Christophe Claret Poker has one more trick up its sleeve. Like on the Christophe Claret Baccara, there is a magic image on the sapphire crystal that is only visible when breathed on. The moisture from breath reveals the image of a pin-up girl, a different girl for each model of Poker. Why? Because that’s Vegas, Baby! Christophe Claret has really covered all of the bases with the Poker.

Each of the four different variants of the Christophe Claret Poker will be limited editions with production limited to 20 pieces each. Prices are between about $175,000 and $190,000 (160,000 to 172,000 Swiss Francs). For more information on the Christophe Claret Poker, check out the video, tech specs and press release below or visit Christophe Claret here.

A metallization process of the sapphire crystal means when the dial is breathed upon, a pin-up girl appears– there is a different pin-up for each version of Poker

Press Release

Christophe Claret Poker Press Release

Poker

An astounding new feat by Christophe Claret

Poker is yet another demonstration of Christophe Claret’s daring know-how. The watchmaker plays another card in a strong hand of interactive Haute Horlogerie creations.

We have already had the 21 Blackjack and Baccara, now comes Poker, the latest addition to Christophe Claret’s trilogy of gaming watches. Christophe Claret’s fertile imagination has managed to devise the mechanism for this sophisticated card game and enclose it within a case just 45mm in diameter. For up to three players and the house, there are an incredible number of gameplay possibilities. While he revels in taking on the most improbable challenges, Christophe Claret also likes to combine grace with utility.

Poker was actually to be the first of the gaming timepieces launched by Manufacture Claret. While the game seems simple to organize on a table, its watchmaking version is an extreme test and no technical solution had been found until Mr Christophe Claret himself came up with the answer. While the first prototype was working in 2011, it required two years to perfect the intricate complication. Devising the gearing and bringing it all together in a mechanical movement – in other words, orchestrating a complete 52-card game following the rules of poker – is a real feat, one which offers Haute Horlogerie exciting new technical prospects. In total, Poker packs in 32,768 different combinations, i.e. 98,304 combinations for three players. The probabilities have been calculated so that everyone has approximately the same chances of winning.

Users can immerse themselves in real three-player games of the most popular variant of poker: Texas Hold’em. As a recap of the rules, a game of Texas Hold’em starts with two closed cards being dealt to each player, i.e. visible only to the player. Five other open cards are dealt out in stages: three, known as the flop, after the first betting round; an additional card, the turn, after another betting round; and finally a last, the river. To have the best hand in Texas Hold’em poker, the player must have the best possible combination of five cards from the seven in their hand.

This is how the PCK05 movement came into being. This completely original automatic-winding in-house caliber comprises no fewer than 655 components, and features two mainspring barrels that provide approximately 72 hours of power. There are bound to be some late nights! But no need to worry, as well as its gaming functions, Poker has not abandoned its time display role, with two central hands providing excellent legibility.

Poker is the very first timepiece that manages to replicate the game in an automaton watch. The ease of use when playing Poker is as impressive and unexpected as its intrinsic complexity. Up to three players face each other around the watch. The first hand is dealt by means of a pusher at 9 o’clock. This winds up a spring, which simultaneously spins four concentric discs − one of which made from sapphire − on which the cards are printed. There is no way of speculating as to the position of the discs. After a few moments the discs are immobilized at random by dampers. All the discs are mounted on ceramic or ruby bearings so they turn as freely as possible.

Once the push-piece at 9 o’clock has been pressed, the now shuffled cards are dealt in windows at 6 o’clock, 10:30 and 2:30. An ingenious mechanism of angled shutters makes them invisible to the other players. After this first betting round, the pusher at 10 o’clock reveals the flop, i.e. three cards which appear on the left of the dial. Another push-piece at 8 o’clock then reveals the turn, one card on the right of the dial. Finally, the same push-piece deals out the river, also on the right of the dial. True to his mastery of chiming watches, Christophe Claret equipped Poker with a cathedral gong, which sounds whenever the flop and turn/riverpushers are pressed. Now comes the showdown.

The dial of Poker is entirely made and assembled within Manufacture Claret and was designed to offer excellent legibility of both the time and the Poker game. With subtle decoration, a matte black ring, open-worked with playing cards, is overlaid on a silvered background. Emblematic of the brand, the ruby and titanium hands – among the most expensive to make because of the complexity of machining these precious materials – are enhanced by a luminescent coating. The hour indexes are on the bezel so as not to crowd the stage. Although the dial has an incredible 77 components, its balanced harmonious design ensures that the players are not distracted. And, in a final detail that aficionados may appreciate, a breath of air forming condensation on the watch sapphire reveals a pin-up girl… Welcome to the world of the casino!

This world of the casino even continues through to the back of the watch. The transparent case-back provides a view of the oscillating winding rotor in the form of a roulette wheel. This rotor design is already an icon of the Christophe Claret Interactive Gaming Complication collection. Once activated by one or two shaking motions, the oscillating weight turns for a few moments before stopping: no more bets please! An arrow points to one of the 37 numbers on an inner ring. Did your number come up by chance? If so, it may have been thanks to a special key opposite a green emerald set on the case-back. This personalization is much appreciated by those who believe in their lucky number.

Poker is available in four versions: two-tone, black PVD-treated grade 5 titanium and white gold; two-tone, black PVD-treated grade 5 titanium and red gold; monochrome, black PVD-treated grade 5 titanium, with blue spinel hands; and monochrome, black PVD-treated grade 5 titanium with red ruby hands. Poker is covered by a worldwide patent. Each case material is limited to just 20 pieces. Poker is an exceptional timepiece, which, like winning a big game, is only for the lucky few.